The Miami Dolphins are the top-ranked team, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, for the second consecutive season in the NFL Players Association report card.

The Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers rounded out the top five in the third annual NLPA report card released at the NFL scouting combine.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals were the bottom five.

JC Tretter, the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer, said 1,695 players responded to the survey, an average of 52 players per team and 77% of the union’s membership.

Arizona to invest $100 million into new practice facility >> The Arizona Cardinals say they are planning to invest roughly $100 million to build a new training facility at the team’s current location, following low marks for facilities in the yearly NFL Players Association survey that was released.

The Cardinals finished 32nd overall out of 32 teams in this year’s report, with players giving the team a D+ grade for treatment of families, a D- for the food and dining area, an F- for the locker room and a D- for the training room.

Competition committee to look into Overtime rule changes >> The NFL is considering changing overtime rules in the regular season to decrease the advantage for teams who win the coin toss.

“It’s time to rethink the overtime rule,” league executive Troy Vincent said at the NFL scouting combine.

Vincent said the Competition Committee agrees overtime rules need to be addressed. Receiving the ball first has become more of an advantage than pre-2011 when it was a sudden death period. Receiving teams won 56.8% of games in overtime from 2017-24, up from 55.4% from 2001-11.

Baseball

Brewers Pitcher Bukauskas out for season >> Milwaukee Brewers pitcher JB Bukauskas is expected to miss the entire season because of lat surgery, the latest injury-related setback for a former first-round draft pick.

The 28-year-old Bukauskas missed most of the 2024 season with a lat injury as well. The right-hander went 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances with Milwaukee and had a 0-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in six outings with Triple-A Nashville.

Trout hits first homer back from injury >> Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout hit his first homer of spring training, a solo shot over the left-field wall as the Los Angeles Angels star tries to bounce back from several injury-filled seasons.

The 33-year-old went deep in the third inning off Cincinnati reliever Bryan Shaw. Trout was the designated hitter and plans to play a majority of his games in right field, moving from center in an attempt to preserve his health.

Dodgers Ohtani to make Spring Debut >> Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will make his first spring training appearance of the year on Friday night against his old team, the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani, 30, will be the designated hitter. Roberts has not given a timetable for Ohtani’s return to the pitching mound other than to say he hopes it would be “sooner than later.” Roberts has ruled Ohtani out for the opening series in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19.

Ohtani injured his left shoulder sliding into second base during the World Series, when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games.

Golf

Woodland receives PGA courage award after Brain Surgery >> Former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was honored with the PGA Tour Courage Award as he comes back from brain surgery to remove a lesion that was causing him to have unfounded thoughts that he was dying.

Woodland, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach to go along with three other PGA Tour titles, had a hole the size of a baseball removed from his head so doctors could remove the lesion in a September 2023 surgery.

He returned last year and continues to make strides toward restoring his game and his life at home with wife Gabby and his three children.

Soccer

Liverpool extend Premier League lead >> It feels like a matter of when, not if, Liverpool seals a record-equaling 20th English league title.

The gap at the top of the Premier League was extended to 13 points after a 2-0 victory over Newcastle.

Liverpool took full advantage as second-place Arsenal dropped more points in a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.

Spanish fan sentenced 1-year in prison for racial abuse on Akapo >> A soccer fan who racially abused former Cádiz defender Carlos Akapo during a league match at Granada three years ago has been given a one-year prison sentence by a Spanish court.

The supporter, who was also handed a 14-month stadium ban, was caught on camera making monkey gestures towards Akapo, who is Black, during Cádiz’s 0-0 draw at Granada in February 2022.

Akapo, who now plays for Brazilian club Amazonas, applauded the news on social media. La Liga — which reported the abuse to Spanish authorities at the time — also welcomed the long-awaited verdict.

Hockey

Rangers’ Fox placed on IR >> New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox is going on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Fox is expected to miss some time but should return before the end of the regular season, the person said.

Fox, 27, got hurt in the third period of the Rangers’ 5-1 win Tuesday night at the Islanders.